heal
by wistfulwhispers
Summary: he was forced to start from the ground up and somewhere along the way, he learned how to heal.


**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Naruto.

**A/N: **ASDFGHJKL SASUSAKU AND NARUHINA BECAME CANON! Among the mass of ships that Kishi put together. Literally crying from happiness. I wouldn't have wanted the only manga I've ever read and fallen in love with to end any different way. These characters have become a part of me and I feel as though I grew up with them. Now they're all married with children and I will never get over it. Cheers to the war ending, to the bridges mended, to all the couples, to SasuSaku. Cheers, guys.

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><p><strong>heal<strong>

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><p>The crimson turned maroon blood, dried with time, made them stick out like a sore thumb.<p>

After making sure Kakashi would be okay, she gracefully made her way down in a way that was her own. She had always been light on her feet, but this time, the heaviness in her chest was almost unbearable. The sight she saw as she dropped to the ground in front of them made her heart ache.

Here they were.

They had come from the reckless fool, the cold prodigy, and the lovestruck little girl to whatever one could call them now. But they were still here. She stopped breathing as they met her stares expectantly and although a mere minute had passed, it felt as though an hour had gone by to her. They were close enough for her to touch their faces. Close enough for her to hear the ragged but soft inhale and exhale. A closeness that she had not been able to recreate for the past three years. It was almost enough to make her cry.

But Sakura Haruno did not cry, because crying makes you weak.

Or so she mentally repeated as she forced herself out of her trance and both of her hands were enveloped in glowing sea green. Naruto's features relaxed as the healing chakra began pouring into him and he closed his eyes after muttering a relieved and grateful "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

Her lids had become her only barrier from his face and she decided to keep it that way, as she couldn't bare to look him in the eye. So when he spoke her name for the first time in forever, she cut him off.

"Don't. I need to concentrate."

He never listened to her. Not then, and most certainly not now. So he continued with whatever he had to say and there was nothing she could do but listen. Because she always listened.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For everything I've done."

There was an overbearing pause. The glowing green faltered for a split second and she bent her head sending her pink hair cascading in a feeble attempt to create a curtain between her and this misled boy that she has been in love with for most of her life. Unbeknownst to her, that very boy was also biting his tongue, waiting to see what she would say.

"You'd better be." Her voice cracked and the wall she spent so long building came down instantaneously as tears began streaming down her pale porcelain cheeks. "You're so much trouble. Stupid."

He was conflicted. Relief flooded through him and a state of peace that he had not felt in ages came over him at the same time that guilt began gnawing at the pit of his stomach. _You're always making her cry._

But a smile broke through and she finished healing them. Her boys sat up, facing her, and a tranquility settled upon this broken team as they reveled in this feeling of wholeness and togetherness that was the only thing that could fill the void in their hearts. Their teacher, who had witnessed all the highs and lows of this miraculous team, smiled silently to himself. Of all the teams he had come to know in his career as a shinboi, none of them were as connected as this one. It truly had been a pleasure watching them grow up. This was the beginning of the forever they all deserved.

…

They had been back in the village for a few weeks. He had been pardoned thanks to the efforts of Kakashi-_sama _and Naruto. It felt too soon for her as they stood at the gate, facing this boy with the dark eyes and the dark past. But his future shone brighter than anyone could have imagined. He had come so far.

"You're leaving already?" She spoke, trying to be as nonchalant as possible but only ended up sounding disappointed.

"Yeah. There's a lot of the world that I missed when I was focused on killing my brother. I might not get this opportunity again. Also, I have a few things on my mind."

"What would you say if I said I wanted to come with you?" She asked delicately, knowing she was treading on foreign ground.

"There's no need. You have nothing to do with my sins."

Her cheeks were on fire with embarrassment from his rejection and she went to make a hasty retreat when something passed through his usually blank eyes and held her in place. Suddenly, he closed the distance between them and gently poked her forehead.

"I'll see you when I'm back."

The softness in his eyes and the raw, genuine care in the tone of his voice as he spoke to her in a manner that she had never seen him display before sent shivers down her spine and she couldn't look away.

…

Seven years had passed.

He had come back from his cleansing travels and began to court her. Two years later, he proposed to her, and after he saw her in a wedding dress, he never stopped saying how that was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life. They married on a cool spring morning under the newborn cherry blossom trees surrounded by their closest family and friends. A year later, they had a daughter named Sarada. It was the fairytale ending she deserved.

Some nights, he would spend his precious hours of rest asking himself what he did to deserve this second chance. He could go down a list of people who deserved this more than he did, starting with his brother.

One morning as he arrived at the infamous Team Seven training grounds to spar with Naruto, he found the blond already waiting for him and deep in thought. He knew how tight his best friend's schedule now was, considering that he had become the seventh hokage, but Naruto showed no indication of hurrying in the slightest. He surprised Sasuke when he spoke. His voice was strong with conviction and it was still hard to believe that this knucklehead had actually grown into the leader that he was today.

"You know, I know what you think."

Sasuke paused and waited for him to elaborate.

"You think you don't deserve this. You think she's too good for you and that a lot of other people deserve this more than you do. But you don't get it." He stood up to his full height. No longer the shortest on their team, he was as tall as Sasuke, and the two men held each other's gaze for the longest time, until Naruto broke into a smile and began to space them out for the spar.

"You don't get that this has been here for you since the day we graduated from the Academy. We have all loved you, been here for you, tried to reach out to you in any way we could. You're only starting to accept it now."

His words, heavy with truth, made Sasuke go rigid with realization.

"I'm sorry." He says instinctively. The word was no longer a stranger to him.

"There's no need for apologies, Sasuke. We all make mistakes. We all heal." Naruto dropped into his fighting stance, causing him to do the same. "Now come on, let's spar. I still have to help Hinata with Himawari before I go back to the tower."

So they sparred.

They made more mistakes down the road, too. But the difference was that he now had something to come back to. He had a beautiful daughter and a loving wife and a best friend who would never not be there for him. He was forced to start over from the ground up and somewhere along the way, he learned how to heal.


End file.
